Tom Cruise accepts his Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards with an emotional reflection on the power of cinema.

Tom Cruise received an Honorary Oscar on November 16. On the occasion, he also delivered a speech that felt like a mission statement for his entire life. Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who is directing Cruise in an untitled film set for October 2026, handed him the award.

According to Variety, he thanked the thousands of people who make movies possible, the crews, the artists, the writers, and the team who work in shadows but carry the industry. Then he shifted into the reason he has stayed in this business for forty years.

“The cinema takes me around the world,” he said. “It helps me to appreciate and respect differences. It also shows me our shared humanity, how alike we are

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